The following is the transcript from Meghan Finn's appearance, with her Mom Liz Costello, on The Montel Williams Show - Feb. 10, 2004.

LIZ (Daughter was Born with a rare genetic disorder): There's a reason for
everything, so why was Meghan born with Williams syndrome? She has a great
message for the world.

WILLIAMS: And her message is music. Like so many with Williams syndrome,
Meghan has been given a gift of song.

MEGHAN (Diagnosed with Williams syndrome at 18 Months): Just mainly feel happy
that I can live a life and give people the talents I have instead of just
crying every day.

(End of excerpt)

(Announcements)
 

WILLIAMS: My next guest is a college student and a recording artist, but her
road to success has not been that easy. I want you to take a look at this.

(Excerpt from video)

WILLIAMS: Twenty-six-year-old Meghan is recognized as a true musical talent.
She only has to hear a tune once before she'll sing it with pitch and
precision, then pound it out on a piano, and she can't even read music. Talents
few people have, but Meghan can't do some things many consider simple.

MEGHAN: I have a hard time with money management and reading comprehension.
Sometimes I don't even know what that is.

WILLIAMS: Meghan was born with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that
can cause both severe physical and mental hardships. Her IQ is normal, but her
charm is way off the charts.

LIZ: There's a reason for everything, so why was Meghan born with Williams
syndrome? She has a great message for the world.

WILLIAMS: And her message is music. Like some with Williams syndrome, Meghan
has been given a gift of song.

MEGHAN: Just really feel happy that I can live a life and give people the
talents I have instead of just crying every day of what I was born with. We're
unique. We're different. We're not stupid, but we show people that we are,
you know, human, and that we can definitely change people's lives forever.

(End of excerpt)

WILLIAMS: Well, please welcome Meghan's mom, Liz, to the show. Welcome her.

LIZ: Thank you.

WILLIAMS: Liz, come here. You got--explain this to us so we understand. What
is Williams syndrome? Describe it for us.

LIZ: In layman's terms?

WILLIAMS: In layman's terms.

LIZ: The best that I can do. It's--Williams syndrome affects one in every
20,000 children born. It's a genetic disorder, and it's chromosomes that
affect gene number--I hope this is right--seven. It causes mild to moderate to
greater mental retardation. Depending on how large the bite of the gene--the
deletion is.

WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.

LIZ: It--it affects people being able to have balance, depth perception. As
Meghan says, reading comprehension or just comprehending. It's developmental
disability, so Meghan is 27 now, 26--or 27 now, and sh--she may be--for
instance, have a lot of abilities of 16-year-old...

WILLIAMS: Mm-hmm.

LIZ: ...15-year-old, 21-year-old, and in some instances, 30. I mean, she--she
just has such a range. These kids are so unique, it's hard to pigeonhole them.

WILLIAMS: And in her case, and in I think with almost all Williams syndrome
children, they do have this affinity towards music, is that correct?

LIZ: Yeah, they do.

WILLIAMS: Music and sound.

LIZ: Music and sound and cocktail personality. They're, you know, talk-show
hosts. They're...

WILLIAMS: Yeah. Uh-huh.

LIZ: And...

WILLIAMS: Well, she's going to take over my show, I just want you to know that,
in about two seconds.

LIZ: They just feel it more, so even if someone doesn't have the gift of
singing or playing the piano, they are still--if they have Williams
syndrome--they live with music. They love music. They love to listen...

WILLIAMS: Always?

LIZ: Always.

WILLIAMS: And you--you realized that very early on with Meghan, correct?

LIZ: Yeah. It was even more than just listening. It was a calmness that would
come over her. Her whole body would be soothed by music, so it was much
greater even than just listening.

WILLIAMS: But then when did you start to realize that she not only was
listening and loved it, but she had the ability to do things that were kind of
amazing?

LIZ: Right.

WILLIAMS: When did you find--first find that out?

LIZ: Maybe 18 months to two years. She would hear a song on the radio, and she
had a toy piano. And I would hear her plunking out the exact tune. And I
thought, `Wait a minute, something's unusual here. Something's different.' I
certainly don't have musical talent. And so about that time, I saw an ad in
the paper, and I bought a used big piano for $50. And I brought it home, and I
think Meghan was around two--maybe a couple months past two years old. And it
would keep her for hours. I would sit her on that bench, and she would play.
And we'd have the radio nearby so she could hear a song, and she would play
that.

WILLIAMS: Let's make sure we understand when people say this. Not--we're not
talking about the child who sings at the piano going ding, ding, ding, ding,
ding, ding. No, home girl sits at the piano playing full blown chords.

LIZ: Right.

WILLIAMS: Right. We're talking about...

LIZ: And--and make up her own music as she gets older. But it's not--I want to
be sure--she's not a savant.

WILLIAMS: Correct.

LIZ: But she--but she has a gift, as do many of our children with Williams.

WILLIAMS: Let me take a break, and when we come back, let's meet her, OK?

LIZ: OK, great.

WILLIAMS: We really do. Take a break. We'll be back right after this.

(Announcements)

MEGHAN: (From video) I'm playing it very good.

WILLIAMS: Please welcome Meghan to the show!

Come on. Come on, girlfriend. We want to meet you. How you doing?

MEGHAN: Good.

WILLIAMS: Good. Feeling good? Here, have a seat.

LIZ: (Unintelligible).

WILLIAMS: Come here. Hah, hah, hah.

MEGHAN: My God!

WILLIAMS: What?

MEGHAN: I'm here.

WILLIAMS: You're here, I know you're here. Talk to me.

MEGHAN: What's up, man?

WILLIAMS: What's up, man? So tell me, though, all right, so now I and Mom have
been sitting out here talking about this Williams syndrome thing, OK? Let's
start there first. I want you to tell me what we should know about Williams
syndrome. You tell me what we should do--and Williams syndrome, and what we
should know about someone like Meghan. Tell me.

MEGHAN: Ta-da. That we are just human like everyone else. We all have
problems. We all have feelings. We might look different to people, but--but
it doesn't mean that we're stupid, that we're dumb. We're people who are
living a life as well as everyone else. And that we're unique, we're special
to people, we're important to people, and we're here for a reason. We're here
to show people that we are human, and that we have special gifts for people
that can learn from us.

WILLIAMS: Absolutely, absolutely.

MEGHAN: Thank you.

WILLIAMS: And speaking of special gifts, tell me about this affinity to music.
Now, what kind of music do you like the most?

MEGHAN: The '80s.

WILLIAMS: The '80s. Are you back--she's talking back with Barry Manilow and
stuff--are you not? You like singing all that kind of stuff, '80s. You don't
do any--you're not into hip-hop?

MEGHAN: Nah.

WILLIAMS: Nah.

MEGHAN: I can't stand that stuff.

WILLIAMS: Can't stand hip-hop. You like stuff that has a melody.

MEGHAN: Right.

WILLIAMS: Something that you can play.

MEGHAN: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Now, do you write your own music?

MEGHAN: I started to a long time ago, and I would like to go back to it again.

WILLIAMS: So you are now a recording artist.

MEGHAN: Yes, sir.

WILLIAMS: Correct? When is the record coming out? That's what I want to know.
When do I roll down to, you know, Tower Records and pick up a copy?

LIZ: Bless your heart.

WILLIAMS: When? Can I do it soon?

MEGHAN: Oh, yeah.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah?

LIZ: Hopefully this summer. We're--we have--there's three more songs to do.

MEGHAN: Yes. Yes.

WILLIAMS: And that record's going to come out and be in a record store soon so
you can be, like, this big star and all that, huh?

MEGHAN: Oh, yeah.

WILLIAMS: So I'm going to have to like beg your mom to just talk to you now,
then, right? See, it used to be like you were all enamored by Montel. And now
Montel's got to say, `Can I even speak to Meghan?' What? Huh? What else? Tell
me--tell me--tell me about the future for you. Then I got to take a break, but
tell me about the future for you. What do you see in the future for yourself?

MEGHAN: I want to just keep on doing music and live a happy, long, fulfilled
life and to let people know that I'm still going to be around.

WILLIAMS: Well, now, we hope you are. Let me take a break, and we'll talk a
little bit more. We'll be back right after this.

MEGHAN: Right after this.

(Announcements)

WILLIAMS: All right, so, Liz, wait, talk to us a little bit about--you are now
working with people to do what? To make them more aware of Williams syndrome?
What are you doing?

LIZ: Well, I have a great passion in trying to bridge differences, Montel, and
I--I learned when Meghan was growing up, I had so much to learn myself that I
became a social worker and--and then a coach. And I do workshops for parents
of children with special needs. I work with a lot of mothers in getting over
the denial, all the fears that we constantly have. Trying to stay in today,
and yet also we have to--you know, we want to live in the now, but we still
have to plan or look at what's next. What do we need to put in place? What
kind of supports are necessary? How can we best advocate and stand up to the
systems that are in place? The schools, the social services, whatever we need
and constantly teach and model that we're--we need certain things to happen.

WILLIAMS: Are you living on your own now?

MEGHAN: I'm living in an independent living apartment with a roommate right
now.

WILLIAMS: So somebody comes by to assist every now and then?

LIZ: It's a wonderful training program in Ventura, and that's almost over, so
we're looking at next step.

WILLIAMS: I got to take a break. This is yours. Do your thing. Take us out
of here, girlfriend. Dim some lights.

LIZ: "Amazing Grace."

WILLIAMS: Give us some a cappella from Meghan, because the CD's on its way,
guys.

(Meghan sings "Amazing Grace")

MEGHAN: Thank you.

(Announcements)

WILLIAMS: We're out of time, so I want to thank all of our guests for being
here. And for more information on Williams syndrome, please go to our Web site
at www.montelshow.com, and you can get for--more information there.

I heard something that I just--you know, it's those silly things. But I hear
that people with Williams syndrome have extremely good hearing, acute hearing.
Is that right?

MEGHAN: Yes, sir.

WILLIAMS: You also have Williams syndrome, right?

Unidentified Woman #1: Yes, I do.

WILLIAMS: And now, you--you've lived with this. How old are you? Can I ask
you?

Woman #1: I'm almost going to be 24.

WILLIAMS: Twenty-four.

And you have Williams syndrome. How old are you?

Unidentified Woman #2: Yes, hi, I'm 27.

WILLIAMS: Twenty-seven. And thi--she's got to be a big light for you guys,
correct?

Woman #1: We love her.

WILLIAMS: Of course we do, without a doubt. You know what? I don't think
we're going to pull off that test in here because I think I'm in the wrong spot,
but when we leave the show today--I got to--I'm out of time. So I want to
thank everybody for being here. When we go back--backstage, I want to pick one
end of the hallway, and you're going to be in the other end of the hallway, and
I'm standing here and whisper things and see if you can hear them because I
hear--supposedly you can hear...

Offscreen Voice #1: I hear voices, that's right.

WILLIAMS: ...a train from a mile away.

Offscreen Voice #2: It's true.

WILLIAMS: It's true.

Voice #2: Yes.

WILLIAMS: I'm out of time. Join us on the next MONTEL.

MEGHAN: Join us on the next MONTEL.